Jason Mark

Jason Mark is the coauthor (with Kevin Danaher and Shannon Biggs) of the new book Building the Green Economy: Success Stories from the Grassroots (PoliPointPress). His new book charts the efforts of local communities to create a more ecologically sustainable and socially responsible economy. The book tells the stories of people who have successfully grown urban farms; built wind power projects; fought toxic polluters; created networks of locally owned enterprises; established worker coops; and founded businesses that place people and the planet before short-term profit.Building the Green Economy also includes a dozen interviews with prominent grassroots leaders. The book is an inspiring "greenprint" for how, together, we can realize a more safe and humane society.

Mark's writings on the environment have appeared in a range of publications, including The Nation, Orion, E, Yes! The San Francisco Chronicle, Alternet.org, Grist.org, and TomPaine.org. He is the editor of the environmental quarterly Earth Island Journal. His first book Insurrection: Citizen Challenges to Corporate Power (Routledge) was published in 2003.

But Mark doesn't just write about the green movement—he is a part of it. He is the co-manager of Alemany Farm, a 4.5-acre farm in the middle of San Francisco. Alemany Farm uses organic fruit and vegetable cultivation to give "at-risk" youth meaningful job training and to educate the public about our reliance on natural systems. The Farm, located next to a public housing complex, participates in a government-subsidized farmer's market geared toward improving food security in San Francisco's poorer neighborhoods.

Author-Activist-Farmer Mark is an energetic and engaging speaker who has been well received in past campus lectures at UC Berkeley, San Francisco State, Sonoma State, Brown University, University of Southern California, and University of Seattle, among other venues.

He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the human rights group Global Exchange. Mark holds a bachelor's degree in international relations from Georgetown University.